Foreclosure Challenge Loses

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit against a company created to electronically record every mortgage loan in the United States.

Judge Timothy Corrigan of Jacksonville, Fla., ruled that Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems did not misrepresent itself to lenders, the Daily Business Review reports. MERS had obtained a legal interest in loans from third-party lenders and then foreclosed on the plaintiffs’ delinquent loans.

The putative class action claimed MERS engaged in illegal debt collection practices. The suit said the company identified itself as the owner of mortgages even though it had no license for mortgage lending. It also alleged the company failed to register as a consumer collection agency.